This passage is probably written in the late 1st century by the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. But it could also have been written in the late 21st century by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an African Episcopalian leader and visionary. The life of Desmond Tutu reveals how God's word is alive and powerful in our time.

Desmond Tutu lived in South Africa in the late 20th century when 'apartheid', the separation of whites and blacks, severely limited the rights of South African blacks. Working with Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned 27 years for his opposition to apartheid, Tutu opposed hatred and embraced love. After Mandela was released from prison and became President of South Africa, he appointed Tutu to oversee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body that helped South Africa heal from the crimes of apartheid through confession by those who committed the crimes, forgiveness by those who suffered, and restitution to those who had been abused.

Both Mandela and Tutu embraced the African concept of ubuntu (ooh-boon-too). In Tutu's words, "It refers to gentleness, to compassion, to hospitality, to openness to others, to vulnerability, to be available to others and to know that you are bound up with them in the bundle of life."

In his book, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for our Time, Desmond Tutu states, "We tend to think love is a feeling, but it is not. Love is an action; love is something we do for others." He further says, "For he who would love God must love his brother also. And so the divine judgment about our fitness for heaven will be based not on whether we went to church, whether we prayed or did other equally important religious things. No, Jesus says it will be based on whether we fed the hungry, clothed the naked. We do this not because of our politics, but because of our religion. Blessed be God our God for being such a God."

Throughout his lifetime, Desmond Tutu received over 100 honorary degrees. In 1984 he received the Nobel Peace Prize . He was often compared to Martin Luther King, and Jesse Jackson referred to him as the "Martin Luther King of Africa." But he remained a humble man.

Tutu believed that "The evil that we do to one another is much easier to see than the everyday acts of goodness and generosity that we do for one another in the sweep of human history. But ultimately this tally of history does not tell us whether God has a plan or a dream. It simply tells us to what extent we have chosen to heed God's call, to become partners with God in realizing His dream."

Dear Lord, give us the courage and faith to live into your dream for the world even if we cannot see its fruition in our time. Help us to love not with words or speech but with actions and truths. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

This podcast was written by Laura Derr and read by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week.

If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We hope that each of these scriptures and podcasts will bring you a full measure of joy, peace, and love.

Now, let's listen to the scriptures that have been on our hearts this week.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Aha!

Jesus’ audience now knew how to deal with those unrepentant people in their midst.

Treat them as a Gentile! Gentiles are unclean and uncalled and meant to be shunned! But wait. How did Jesus treat Gentiles? He healed a foreign leper and nine of his fellows. He gave special recognition to this foreigner for his appreciation when he returned to give thanks to Jesus for healing him. And Jesus healed the servant of the centurion, acknowledging the centurion’s great faith and belief in his authority. And he made the Samaritan an example of mercy when the priest and the Levite passed by on the other side of the road. So Jesus acknowledged Gentiles and foreigners as worthy of his love and compassion.

OK, but what about tax collectors?! They cheated their own people and lined their pockets with the exorbitant taxes that they levied on their neighbors. They were not worthy to be associated with. This is how we should be treating the unrepentant sinner! But wait. Jesus called Matthew from his tax-collecting booth to be a disciple and then went to his house to eat with his tax-collector friends and other sinners. Jesus called down Zacchaeus from the tree and joined him for a meal at his home. And he used the repentant tax collector as a foil for the proud Pharisee when teaching about true prayer.

Jesus showed love and compassion for those who were the lowest of the low, the Gentiles and tax collectors, in the eyes of his audience, and said to treat the unrepentant sinner just the same. In the words of Rachel Held Evans, “Jesus talked theology with women. He hung out with sex workers and tax collectors. He drew crowds made up of the sick and the poor. He criticized religious leaders who try to slam the door to the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces.”

How often do we automatically discard and shun those that we feel are unworthy of our love and care simply because we believe they haven’t properly acknowledged and repented of sins we feel that they have committed? How did Jesus treat the Gentiles and tax collectors, and all the other “less than” people of his time? This must be our example of how we treat others regardless of their perceived shortcomings. Inclusion. Compassion. Healing. Love. That is our example and our charge.

Again, to quote Rachel Held Evans, “…at the end of the day, we’re all in this Kingdom thing together. We’re all loved by God, all in desperate need of grace, all in need of one another. In a sense, we’re all outliers.”

Dear Father, forgive us when we judge and consider others as unworthy of our love. Teach us to forever examine the example of Jesus and model our own behavior towards others after him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Charlie Barton.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.